Side By Each Brewing, Poutine Factory nearly ready to serve in Auburn

In July, brewery partners Ben Low and Matt Johannes received the first commercial loan from the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council since LAEGC moved into the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Nathan Hahn, left, of Coffee By Design walks Willis Croninger through the process of pulling the first press of espresso at Side By Each Brewing Co. in Auburn, as owner Ben Low looks on, right. The business will open in January with coffee and beer sampling. Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn

AUBURN — A winding, 87-foot, wooden bar top is installed. There is room for a dozen 275-gallon tanks. And one-quarter of an actual food truck is mounted on a wall.

Side By Each Brewing Co. and The Poutine Factory are nearly ready to open.

In July, brewery partners Ben Low and Matt Johannes received the first commercial loan from the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council since LAEGC moved into the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

They have put in new front doors and windows. The bar sits in the middle of the massive space inside. Low said bar seating is planned, along with cafe tables, high-top tables and long pub tables in the back. It’ll seat around 100 and likely fit around 200.

All of that fronts a wall of massive windows showing off sizable brewery space.

“We wanted the public to be able to see what we’re doing in there,” said Low, the former director of brewing operations at Baxter Brewing Co.

Johannes is the former head brewer at Baxter. At Side By Each, they’ll start with a one-barrel system for pilot batches and six 275-gallon tanks.

“We have the infrastructure to add six more (tanks),” Low said.

Planned for the bar’s 24 taps: a mix of cold brew coffee, wine, cider, carbonated water and 15 of their craft brews.

They hired their first employee in mid-December, and are shooting for a mid-January opening for coffee and beer samples, March for full craft brew offerings.

Low said they have sold some equipment naming rights, and plan to sell prorated yearly brew shares once they are pouring.

“As you get down to crunch time, there’s the punch list of a million things,” he said. “It’s kind of stressful, but it’s also really exciting.”

Last week, Randy Smith, owner of Pinky D’s food truck, was putting the final touches on the new The Poutine Factory going inside Side By Each.

He has mounted one-quarter of an actual truck to the wall — it has working lights and horns, a painted DOT number, tires and the same paint scheme as his on-the-road truck. Customers will order from the window on the side of the truck, just like they would at the real deal.